One of my favorite things to do with my husband is go antiquing. He's a very disciplined collector of antique fly-fishing equipment, and I'm a very random and haphazard collector of, well, everything. We have a favorite haunt where the prices are low and every now and then we can spot a jewel. One Saturday, we decided to kill an afternoon wandering around. My friend Michelle came with us.

Michelle and I split off to do women things, which included oohing and aahing over the lovely antique jewelry in a booth owned by a slim, pretty lady in her mid-40s. The three of us hit it off instantly, and it seemed that she showed us every piece of jewelry in the place. One, in particular, caught my eye. It was a silver segmented necklace, with each segment inset with pearls. When I put it on, it flashed and dazzled in the light. I'm not one for jewelry, but I thought I'd never seen anything so beautiful. When she told me the price, I understood why.

“So...what do you think?” she said.

What did I think? I loved it, of course, but there was no way that I could afford it. I did, however, see an opening to go fishing. “It's way out of my price range,” I said. “But I'll tell you what...if my book gets picked up by a publisher, this will be a gift to myself.”

“Book?” she said, as most people do. “What kind of book are you writing?”

This was about a year ago, before I had completed the manuscript for Before God's Wrath: The Bible's Answer to the Timing of the Rapture, and I was still shopping it around. Unless I know I'm talking to a believer, I usually describe the book as about the Second Coming of Christ and end-times prophecy because, with all the recent publicity from the turn of the Millennium, these subjects that are generally of interest even to unbelievers. This was no exception. This gave me the opportunity to share with, I'll call her Angela, some of the many end-times prophecies that are being fulfilled in our lifetime. This struck her interest, but the booth, once quiet, started to fill with customers and she could no longer give us her undivided attention. So we said goodbye to Angela and to the beautiful pearl necklace, and moved on.

A Strange Place for Testimonies

Lunchtime found us in the ladies' room. Lo and behold, Angela was there, too. She asked about the book, so we struck up a conversation once again. This time, it turned to the truth of scripture (as conversations on the subject of prophecy are wont to do) and God's call on our lives. Michelle and I both gave brief testimonies, and it was Michelle's that garnered most of Angela's attention. Angela told us that she hadn't been to church in years, and she asked a lot of questions. Michelle and I were both glowing with excitement as God gave us the opportunity to share His faithfulness and all that He had done for us. With the types of questions Angela was asking, Michelle ended up answering most of them. I got the sense that, if I'd been alone that day, the conversation would never have lasted as long as it did. Another one of God's providential arrangements! We were so busy telling stories and answering questions, however, that we never got to ask Angela specifically what she believed or what kept her from giving her heart to the Lord. After about 45 minutes, her return to the booth was long overdue.

From that time on, every time my husband and I went to that antique market, I made a point of stopping to say hello to Angela. I hoped to spend some more time with her, but the opportunity for private conversation never arose. I talked a lot about the Lord, though, about what He was doing in my life and especially His leading with my book. She continued to ask questions, and she said that she wanted to be the first to own a copy. This gave me yet more reasons to come back, but there were still no openings to talk in-depth.

In October, I brought her a copy of Before God's Wrath from the first box delivered. After handing it to her, I looked to see if “my” necklace was still there. Even though a year had elapsed since I'd first made the promise to myself, it was.

She pulled the box out from under the table and showed it to me. The necklace was as beautiful as I'd remembered it. I was in a quandary. The book was printed, but I'd created my own publishing company to print and market it myself. The boxes had arrived, but the books hadn't had time to get into circulation, so I didn't have any cash to treat myself with. And the antique market would soon close for the season.

Trust in Jesus' Name

I asked Angela if I could give her a deposit and purchase the necklace in a few weeks, once the book was on the shelves. She hesitated. Since the market was closing soon, like all of the dealers, she wanted to sell as much inventory as possible so she wouldn't have to store it over the winter. Taking such a beautiful piece off the market would be a risk. After a moment's thought, she said, “Normally, I don't do this, but I know you'll come through.” I was thrilled. Not so much because I would get the necklace (although I must admit that this was part of it), but because her reference was to my Christianity. There is nothing special to differentiate me from every other nice customer in the world except my faith. If it was my faith that made the difference, then perhaps my testimony was having an impact.

The end of the season came around, but things didn't work out as I planned. Getting the books into circulation was taking much longer than I'd hoped. Plus, I was in the process of paying off the printing bill. But I had made a commitment, and the responsibility I had to the name of the Lord weighed heavily on me. Angela had given me her home number, so I called, asking if I could have an extension. If not, I said, that was fine, I'd pick it up. But it would be much easier for me if I could wait. Once again, she said, “I know you're good for it. How about the first week of December?”

December it was. As the city of Lancaster began to come alive with Christmas lights, I made a trip to Angela's house to pick up the necklace. Her home was filled with decorations and her tree was strung with antique Christmas ornaments. She brought the necklace down for me, then we began to talk. It was the first time since Michelle and I first met her one year earlier that we had a chance to have a private, in-depth conversation. We talked about her new marriage, my recent marriage, her job, my job, and the business of antiquing. But the Lord seemed very far away. I had hoped that she'd been thinking about her faith and that she'd bring it up, but it didn't look like that would happen. It turned out that the book she'd bought was a present for a relative who was interested in prophecy, and she never intended to read it herself. Time was ticking away, and I knew that if I was going to ask her about her relationship with the Lord, it had to happen soon. So I just asked.

“It seems that when I mention the end-times prophecies being fulfilled, you get a funny look on your face, like it bothers you a little,” I said. “Is there anything I can do, or any questions I can answer, to make you feel more comfortable with it? Maybe help you get ready?”

“Not really,” she said. “I'm not really worried about it.”

Jesus Is Who He Says He Is

I asked her why, and she told me that she believed that if you are a good person, and the good outweighs the bad, that God will let you into heaven. After all, He's a loving God, and there are so many religions in the world. How could He condemn someone for not believing in Jesus or the Bible? She felt certain that, when the time came, she'd be okay. This perspective always makes me sad, because it shows how little the natural mind knows of God. It changes the holy, sovereign, and righteous judge into a god people can understand, one who does what they would do. The Apostle Paul put it this way, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man” (Romans 1:22-23).

“That makes sense,” I said, “but when it comes to the kingdom of God, it doesn't matter what we think, right? It only matters what God thinks, and God says that just being a good person isn't enough.” I shared with her the words of Jesus, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6); and “Surely, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). “This is what Jesus Himself said about getting into heaven,” I said. “So either Jesus was lying, or He was telling the truth. Every one of us has to deal with that question eventually.”

This brought up an interesting issue, she said. When she was younger, she used to fantasize that the Bible was made up by men in the Middle Ages. She would imagine that it was created to give people a sense of hope in the midst of despair, but that it wasn't divinely inspired.

“Not many people realize that we have more historical evidence for the life of Christ than we do about any other historical figure,” I replied. “Even His miracles, His claims to be the Messiah, and His resurrection are extensively documented by both church and secular sources.” I told her that we know from internal structural integrity tests of the New Testament manuscripts, confirmation from external sources, the number and early age of extant manuscripts, among others, that these documents are among the most reliable historical documents of the ancient world. Furthermore, we can place the writing of all the New Testament documents to within a single generation of the death and resurrection of Christ — too close for myth or legend to have arisen.

Even more important to historians is the fact that the writers identify themselves as eye-witnesses or close companions of eye-witnesses to the events that they describe. The authors also appeal to other eye-witness accounts to confirm the truth of their message. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas (Peter), then by the twelve. After that, He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that, He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all, He was seen by me” (1 Cor. 15:3-8). Historians have dated the origin of this passage, which is formally called a creed, to within three years of the death of Christ. So unlike all of the religions of the world, Christianity is a historical faith, based in the historical person of Jesus and the truth of His claims from history. In fact, Christianity is so rooted in the facts of history that Paul wrote, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1 Cor. 15:14).

The Christian faith, I said, is a historical faith, based on the real, historical person of Jesus Christ. People may dispute what His teachings mean, and they can choose to deny that He said them, but the facts of history remain immutable.

Now What?

As I spoke, I sensed a hardening in her heart. The Bible says that we cannot stay neutral when presented with the truth of scripture. Either we yield to presence of God, or we harden ourselves to it. Angela chose to harden.

“I guess I'm not ready,” she said. “Even if what you say is true, I choose to believe something else. Maybe some day, if I'm dying or if things in my life get really bad, I'll be more open it, but right now, I believe that I'm just fine.”

“Would you at least consider reading one of the gospels to see, from God's point of view, what He expects of you?”

“No,” she said. “I don't think so. I'm fine.”

I wasn't ready to give up just yet. I thought about what she'd told me about her former job as vice president of sales and marketing for a mid-sized company, which she had recently given up to spend time with her new husband. “It surprises me that you would say that,” I said. “You seem like a very deliberate person who plans according to facts. How can you say that you believe that you are in the will of God when you don't know what the will of God is? You could pick it up and read it any time that you want, but you choose not to because you don't want to know. Would you go out and buy a car without doing any research? Of course not! You'd do all the research, find out about the different models, and pick the best one. And yet, with your eternal soul, you choose to ignore the facts and wing it, hoping that you've gotten it right?”

She thought about it for a moment. “Yes, I guess so.”

And that was it. Our conversation ended. I made a point of joking about a few things, going back to earlier subjects not related to faith, to avoid leaving on a sour note. When I got home, I pulled an extra Bible off my shelf (I always keep extra copies on hand to give away), wrapped it in Christmas paper, and put it in the mail to her with a Christmas card. “You may not see a need for this now, but someday, if you do, it will be there. Merry Christmas.”

All through the holiday season, I enjoyed wearing my beautiful necklace. But now it has dual meaning for me. I had purchased it as a gift to myself for publishing the book, but now it reminded me of Angela and the precious moments God granted me to speak to her heart. This kept Angela in my prayers during the holiday, that God would water the seeds and bring her into His kingdom. Truly, they had become pearls of great price.

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